The summit is from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Sept. 14 at the USU Ballroom and features keynote speaker Daniel G. Solórzano, a professor of social science and comparative education at UCLA.

The HSI Summit will serve as an opportunity for professional development, a deeper understanding of HSI responsibilities and the generation of collaborative solutions that benefit both the campus and the broader community. 

The summit brings together faculty, staff, administrators, students and partners from other institutions to engage in meaningful conversations and explore how HSI can promote student achievement and create an inclusive environment where students can thrive.

The event is free and open to all. Register online.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, assistant director of editorial and external affairs
ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Workshops, a keynote address, roundtable discussions and more will be held Thursday, April 21, and Friday, April 22. Visit the HSI Summit website to register or for more information on events.

HSIs, or Hispanic Serving Institutions, are defined as colleges or universities where at least 25% of the undergraduate, full-time enrollment is Hispanic and at least half of the institution’s degree-seeking students must be low-income. CSUSM is among 21 California State University campuses that meet these criteria, allowing them to compete for federal funding to expand and enhance educational opportunities for students.

Gina Garcia, a leading scholar on HSIs, will be the keynote speaker at 5:30 p.m. on April 21. She is also an associate professor in the Department of Administrative and Policy Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.

“We are excited to have Dr. Gina Garcia visit our campus and assist with the forward development as well as progress of our Hispanic Serving Institution affairs and Latin@/x Student Outcomes at CSUSM," said Renzo Lara, director of the Latin@/X Center. "The intent of the summit is to examine our HSI status, identity, and highlight current efforts toward Latin@/x Student Success and explore solutions to close equity gaps among communities of color at CSUSM. The HSI Summit is meant to be a launching point for continued campus wide initiatives toward social mobility for Latin@/x students.”

In addition to the campus community, regional CSUs and community college partners are invited to CSUSM’s HSI Summit to share their institutional efforts toward HSI effectiveness and highlight best practices.

Visit the HSI Summit website to register or for more information on events.

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Public Affairs Specialist

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

The University is one step closer to achieving that goal thanks to a recently awarded grant.

The U.S. Department of Education awarded CSUSM a nearly $6 million grant under the Hispanic-Serving Institutions STEM Program, providing foundational funding for an engineering program.

The five-year grant will provide nearly $1.2 million each year beginning Oct. 1, 2016.

“This grant is a significant first step toward launching our engineering program,” CSUSM President Karen Haynes said. “Over the next several months we will be working to secure the necessary private sector funding that will allow us to bring the program to reality.”

Gerardo Dominguez, an associate professor of physics at CSUSM, is the project director for the grant, which is titled “Si Se Puede!” to Close the Equity Gap in Engineering Degree Completion.

“I’m thrilled that this proposal has been chosen and I am excited about the possibilities that this brings to the campus community,” Dominguez said. “It will increase the professional and education opportunities for the residents of North County and the broader area served by CSU San Marcos. I am particularly excited that the funding provided by this grant will allow CSU San Marcos to start offering engineering options for our students in the near future.”

The purpose of the grant is to develop and carry out activities to improve and expand CSUSM’s capacity to serve Hispanic and low-income students.

The project’s goals include developing innovative degree programs in software engineering and electrical engineering; developing the engineering curriculum and transfer pathway between community college partners and CSUSM; and building and supporting an educational ecosystem focused on equitable student success and completion through best practices.

By Sept. 30, 2021, CSUSM expects to increase the percentage of Hispanic and low-income students at community-college partner institutions who transfer successfully to a four-year institution in an engineering field; increase the percentage of Hispanic and low-income students who have completed a STEM degree or credential; and reduce any equity gaps between Hispanic and general population students that exist in the performance measures.

The grant proposal also includes four additional objectives:

• Approximately 240 Hispanic and low-income students will have participated in grant-funded student support programs or services;

• increase the percentage of Hispanic and low-income first-time, full-time degree-seeking students who were in their first year of postsecondary enrollment in the previous year and remain enrolled in the engineering pathway the following year;

• increase the percentage of Hispanic and low-income students in the engineering pathway who successfully complete gateway courses within two years;

• increase the percentage of Hispanic and low-income students in the engineering pathway who complete 30 units within two years.

“I’m excited to be working with Ed Price in physics and Youwen Ouyang in computer science on this project, and I am confident that with humility, careful planning and support from the broader community we can achieve the goals set forth in the proposal,” Dominguez said.

Hispanic Serving Institutes are defined as having at least 25 percent Hispanic full-time undergraduate students. CSUSM currently serves a student population that is nearly 40 percent Hispanic.

Thanks to the grant, CSUSM will fund:

• Innovations in student services including a bilingual/bicultural financial aid specialist and cultural transition academic advisor; bilingual/bicultural mathematics tutors to conduct in-person and online tutoring; and peer mentors for in-person and online support.

• Culturally validating curriculum including the creation of first-year general education courses with a focus on Latino identities; Latino college learning communities; supplemental writing and mathematics courses in hybrid format; and faculty professional development to improve courses which are in high demand but with low success rates for Latino students.

• Meaningful co-curricular offerings including additional research assistants; the second-year Latino Males Mentor Program; programming that addresses contemporary issues shaping Latino students’ educational experiences; and the Pathways to Academic Success and Opportunity (PASO) Parent Institute focusing on college transitions.

• Impactful new technologies including card-swipe technology for services associated with the grant; an instant online chat platform; online meeting technology; tablets for mathematics tutors; and a student computer laboratory for the Latin@ Center.

“We are grateful that the Federal government recognizes our efforts to improve the academic achievement of our Latina and Latino students,” said Karen Haynes, president of CSUSM. “This grant will allow us to enhance our innovative approaches toward making a Cal State San Marcos education more accessible to our region’s students, thus ensuring stronger communities and a more robust pipeline of professionals and leaders for tomorrow.”